The Next Generation
by TheGrammarHawk
Summary: It has been Twenty years. The World has grown in its time of peace. The Heroes have settled down. Sokka is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, married to Suki. This is the story of their daughter, Princess Mizuki, and her friends. What happens when their parents are kidnapped? Or when Mizuki falls in love with the enemy? Read and find out.
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

This is really short. Sorry!

...

The war has ended and the world returned to peace. The saviors are known worldwide. Each name holds a legend: Aang, the Avatar, Katara, the Water-Bender, Sokka, the Planner/sword fighter, Toph, the best Earth-Bender ever and the first Metal-Bender, Zuko, the honorable crown-prince of the Fire Nation, and a few others.

After the War, they remained in touch, and stayed friends. They locked up the wicked Fire-Lord Ozai and his twisted daughter Princess Azula and let the future come.

Over Twenty years, the world healed and grew. The Southern Tribe got rebuilt. The Fire Nation changed its ways. The Earth Kingdom regained its land and ways.

The heroes got settled down and had kids.

But then… after twenty long peaceful years… Azula…broke…out.


	2. Chapter 1: Back to Kyoshi

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

To the Guest who reviewed. I'm sorry! Are you happy now?! I'll post the first chapter!

...

Mizuki stared off into the distance. She was the sixteen year old princess of the Southern Water Tribe.

She had her Aunt's hair, only with her mother's orange streaks.

She had her father's dark skin.

And she longed to get to Kyoshi Island.

She thought about what could be the reason her father Sokka, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, was directing the boat so slowly.

Ah, she thought, how does a Chieftain's daughter entertain when the seas are long and harsh?

Mizuki made this trip for every spring and autumn. During spring and summer, she lived on Kyoshi Island, the land of her mother, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki. For the autumn and winter, she lived in the land of her father, the South Pole.

She turned to see her mother coming toward her. Mizuki cried, "Mom, I am so bored! When are we docking? What is Father doing? I demand an answer!"

Suki sighed and answered, "I thought you would tell me that, so, okay. I acknowledge you are bored. We may be docking tomorrow. Father is trying his hardest to make the boat move faster. There, that is your answer. I have come to tell you that Ty-Lee will be waiting at the house when we dock to say hello. We also got a letter from Uncle Aang and Aunt Katara from the South Pole. They say that Kaito and Sora miss you and wish you were there to play with them."

"Okay," Mizuki replied, "I wish they were here so I could have something to do besides practice my water bending. But, as it is nearly spring, the season of flowers, water bending is taking more of my energy. Therefore, I am bored."

Suki turned and left, she was tired of her daughter's boredom.

Mizuki sighed; she walked down the hull and into the inner chambers. She climbed into her bed, which was of great splendor. Silken sheets, cotton blanket, the pillow stuffed with the softest downy feathers of a creature she did not know.

"Ah," she sighed, "being a princess does have its perks." Mizuki closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Arrival at the Docks

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

...

Mizuki did have one quality she hated: she could wake up extremely late. As she was a princess, no one would ever wake her up! She had fallen into the horrible habit of waking up at noon on bad days, nine on good days.

As Mizuki woke, she saw her mother walking up to her, "Mizuki, child, I thought you would never wake! We will be docking soon! Get up, get dressed! I want you to make a good impression! As you are now 16, you are of marrying age! Oh dear, do not let your father know that I just said that, he will not be happy. Don't get any ideas!"

Mizuki stretched and laughed, "Don't worry mom, I know how father can get, and yes, I agree. I do not want that to happen! Besides, it isn't like I will get to choose who to marry; dad will probably choose the first noble with a ton of cash who likes me!"

Suki watched her daughter with both pain and relief. Suki spun around and left.

Mizuki pulled on her silky seal-skin dress, and freshened up, trying to get all of the sleep out of her eyes.

She remembered her dream from her sleep, a boy about her age, chasing her, hunting her. There was something scary about his eyes. They reminded her of a lion playing with his prey before the kill- cruel and amber.

She strode out onto the deck and climbed down the boat onto the pearly sands of Kyoshi Island. As she walked to the posh building where her family would be staying, she saw a girl around her age eyeing her.

She looked familiar! But who was she?

Mizuki thought for a while, where have I seen a small pale girl with hair like that?

She didn't even notice where she was walking. Mizuki ran right into Ty-Lee.


	4. Chapter 3: Settling in

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

...

"Mizuki," Ty-Lee called out, "You have grown so much! You are truly the symbol of beauty for the Southern Tribe! Of course, you had to be, not many water benders are born on the winter solstice when a full moon was up! You have much potential as a bride! Not to mention of royal birth!"

Ty-Lee pulled her into a tight hug. "Ty-Lee, how many times have I told you no boy or soldier has given me fancy, and I fancy none as well!"

Ty-Lee laughed and Mizuki asked, "Hey, see that small girl there? Who is she?"

Ty-Lee looked amused and replied, "Oh, she is _just a girl_ of noble birth, quite noble for these parts really. She is _no one special_ at all!"

Ty-Lee laughed and guided Mizuki towards her house. "We have a surprise! We shall be hosting another sixteenth birthday party here, thanks to me! Not many of the locals can make it to the South Pole these days, not with such _things_ happening. We all wanted to come however! Also, I made sure to invite every sixteen year old boy and older to the party!"

Mizuki sighed, she obviously wasn't going to win this battle- but she had one card left.

"Ty-Lee," Mizuki asked, "What does my _father_ think of this?"

If anyone would hate all those guys and wedding talk more than her, it was her dad.

Ty-Lee looked up so Mizuki couldn't read her face, "He will be gone tomorrow, he is meeting with Toph, and Haru, and they are taking his ship to patrol."

Toph and Haru, those names were familiar to Mizuki. They helped her parents in the war against Ozai and Azula. Mizuki was getting very suspicious, _things_ happening, and a _patrol_ during her party, meeting up with _old friends_? Something stirred at the back of her mind.

Recently at the South Pole, when she was babysitting the twins, Aunt Katara, Uncle Aang, her mom, and her dad all whispering in the hall, some words she caught were Azula, son, prison, and action. She had seen Azula and her son once, a little over a decade ago, when she was five. It had been nine years sense her parents had split up from their friends: Zuko, Ty-Lee, Iroh, and others. They all got back together as families, Aang and Katara with no children yet, they were born of the fall the following year. Sokka and Suki came with little five year old Mizuki, her hair braided and clean. Haru and Toph came with their four year old daughter, who Mizuki believed her name to be Kimi. Zuko and Mai came with their six year old daughter Shizuka, who barely talked the entire time.

Mizuki barely remembered any of the little girls, it had been so long. She knew that Shizuka was crown princess of the Fire Nation, which hadn't happened for eons. She would remain Crown Princess unless Mai had another child, and it was a boy. Then, because as Mizuki put it, people are afraid of letting girls rule because they are so awesome, that boy would become crown prince.

The same thing could happen to Mizuki, but it wasn't likely.

As far as she knew, no baby boy had replaced Shizuka as Crown kid, so Shizuka would still be the Fire Lady. She thought of something so horrible it couldn't be true: Azula breaking out with the help of her somewhat infamous son!

…

Mizuki endured the rest of the day unpacking, and she noticed Ty-Lee's second surprise: A beautiful silky, deep purple dress with trimming as black as midnight. A light blue dusting of sparkles covered the dress. It was gorgeous.

Finally, Mizuki got settled into her posh bed. It was like her bed on the ship, only it had about five pillows and the colors were different: The sheets were soft pink instead of silver, and the blanket was green instead of blue.

…

The next day, she bid her father goodbye, and went to freshen up for the party. Her favorite servant, Hiromi, whose name meant generous beauty, poured fresh, fragranced water and lily petals into an oak tub for Mizuki to wash in. Hiromi scrubbed and massaged Mizuki's feet as Mizuki watched the big, foamy bubbles float around the tub.

Sakura, another servant, combed out Mizuki's hair. Mizuki embraced the nice hot water, for there was no such thing as "hot" water at the South Pole. You could get "cool", "cold", or "freezing" depending on your status. Some poorer people had actually gotten frozen in their tubs!

Mizuki was going to change that when she became Chief. When she was done soaking and washing, she dried off and slipped on the gown Ty-Lee had given her. Hiromi came back and styled Mizuki's hair.

Mizuki was known among the servants as something no Chief had ever done, or anyone of their family: she gave them tips, as in money, not advice. Mizuki passed Hiromi a gold coin, and looked in the mirror.

Her hair was naturally wavy, and Hiromi took strands of her hair and laced them about each other. Ty-Lee always marveled that she looked so much like her Aunt.

She twirled about as Hiromi clapped. Mizuki grasped Hiromi's hand and they walked down the stairs, to the party.


	5. Chapter 4: Strange Girls

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

...

Mizuki loved the party, she danced as the boys watched, twirling gracefully. Many guys asked to dance with her, and she accepted a few. When she was all danced out, she looked for someone new to talk to.

After a couple of minutes, she spotted someone. She walked towards the strange little girl with black hair up in a way that was familiar. She sat down across from the girl and introduced herself, "Hello! My name is Mizuki; may I ask your name?"

The little girl smiled, and replied, "Mizuki it has been too long! Do you remember me? My family does not get out much, but we still know who you are! The last time you probably remember was eleven years back! It is I, Kimi, daughter of Haru and Toph!"

Mizuki snapped her fingers, "I thought I recognized you! We are great friends!"

Kimi laughed. "Good, I am glad that we still are. I wonder what ever happened to Shizuka." The two friends talked for a while and danced after. They had fun together.

"Shall we meet at the same time tomorrow at the port?"

"Sure!"

...

Mizuki and Kimi were talking by the port. The port was right next to a dense forest. Mizuki had told Kimi about her dreams, and how she couldn't wait until her father came back. As they were talking a figure ran out from the trees.

They stopped talking as the figure collapsed on the sand. Mizuki ran over to the figure, which turned out to be a girl, who looked about her age, with long dark hair and amber eyes.

From the looks of it, she had just passed out and was bleeding heavily from the side. Mizuki collected water from the sea, froze it, and shaped into a sheet of strong ice with two handles. Kimi and Mizuki each helped to carry the girl onto the bed, and carry the bed up into a spare room in Mizuki's house.

Mizuki laid her on a real bed, and then she checked her pulse. "Kimi," She cried, "she is alive! Fetch some water from the sea, or the drawing room. I think I can heal her!"

She had a bit of the girl's blood on her hand. She sniffed it. Poison!

Kimi returned with the water. Mizuki faced the pail of warm water, and spit into it. She then put her hand into it, and stirred the water. The spit dissolved and the water bubbled. Mizuki scooped some of the water into her hands, and she rubbed her hands together. No water fell out. It dissolved, cleaning her hands with it.

Mizuki brought the water to the bed. She dipped her hands in the water, and touched the girl's cut. It was raked down her side. The girl groaned when Mizuki touched it.

Kimi pulled off the shirt of the strange girl, for it was soaked through with blood and so Mizuki could get to more of the cut. Kimi then dipped a cloth in the water and put it on the girl's forehead. She was ill from the poison.

Mizuki explained what she was doing as she worked, "I spit in the water because for some reason, my spit can cure most poisons, although more slowly than other remedies. It is better to use when you don't know what kind of poison you are dealing with. When I rub this water on her wound, it will slow the bleeding and make the poison's movement toward her heart slower, and cures the poison as well. She'll still be slightly ill and weaker than normal for a few days however. Not too fit to do much of anything today really. Why is her face so familiar?"

As Mizuki said that, the girl stirred. "Where am I?" she asked, "Do I know you? Where are the soldiers?!"

Mizuki stared at the confused girl calmly, "Hello, I do not know what soldiers you are talking about. You got a nasty poisoned cut in your side, and I am healing you. This is Kimi, and my name is Mizuki. What is your name?"

The girl answered with a shaky breath, "You may not know me, but I recognize your names. You are the princess of the Southern Water tribe and you are a girl of very noble birth! Remember me? It is I, Shizuka, crown princess of the Fire Nation, daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and his wife Mai. Thank you for saving my life! I am not surprised being that you were my best friend! Let me explain, my mother, Mai, is ill. Very ill, and my father Zuko has gone missing! I have heard rumors that Azula has escaped with the help of her son, Ryuji. I didn't quite believe this until the guards kind of got a bit strange. They ignored me when I asked for them to call the royal doctor for my mother once. I decided that I had to leave my mother. If I stayed, everything would get worse, but if I left, things might get better, especially if I could find my father. I escaped, but the guards went after me! They chased me, even when I borrowed a boat and sailed away! I docked at the rim of this island, and I ran through this forest! They caught up though, and I held them back. They have left, but not before doing this to me."

Kimi looked out the window and up at the sky as she murmured, "What have we gotten into?"


	6. Chapter 5: Trouble Afoot

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**AN: Sokka may be a little OCC in this chapter...**

...

The next day Mizuki, Shizuka and Kimi were walking on the beach, planning to go to the Kyoshi Warrior training house. It was Shizuka's first time out on the island, and she still got very queasy if they walked too much. Her wound was healing nicely, but some poison still lingered.

Mizuki asked, "So have we decided that this _thing _Ty-Lee was talking about is Azula breaking out and causing havoc with Ryuji? I think that is it. Wait- what is that over there? Is that my dad? Sokka? Dad is that really you, you have docked!?"

Mizuki ran over to the figure in the distance.

Sokka turned around and shouted, "Mizuki! Where is Suki?"

Suddenly an explosion of fire filled the area that they were heading in. The Training house was destroyed.

"Whoa," Sokka said, "Suki isn't that awesome. What made the big boom? NO! IT CAN'T BE SPARKY-SPARKY BOOM MAN?! NO! HE MUST BE A ZOMBIE!"

Mizuki looked away from her father, he could be _so_ embarrassing. The others had just caught up. Shizuka had run the way over there, so she walked to a bush, clutching her stomach, and puked in the bush.

The teens and Sokka made their way carefully over to the flaming mess that had been a house. Mizuki looked to her right and, to her horror, saw a fire nation soldier with her mother draped over his shoulder in a fireman's hold. Suki was unconscious.

Sokka screamed like a little girl, and the soldier turned around. He launched a fire ball straight at the ground by them, and the world got developed in darkness.


	7. Chapter 6: Blurred Memory

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**AN: Kimi mentions something about the seasons affecting them. It is my belief that the seasons do affect them and every season is for an element. Winter=Water, Spring=Earth, Summer=Fire, Autumn=Air. Such as during the Winter Solstice, waterbenders are more powerful. Or, on the Spring equinox, earth is more powerful. But, on the opposite, they are weaker, perhaps even ill. The more powerful you are as a bender, the more the Solstice/equinox affects you, for good or ill. Get it? Too bad, deal with it. ;)**

...

Mizuki groaned. The last thing she remembered was seeing her mom, hearing Sokka screaming, and a fireball. Everything hurt. She finally opened her eyes and almost screamed. All she saw were gray-blue eyes.

Kimi backed up; afraid that Mizuki would pass out again.

Mizuki looked around, what had happened? Why were her dad and Shizuka unconscious? Why was everything burned…? It hit Mizuki like a wall.

Her mom, captured, her friends (and dad), hurt, the training house, singed. As everything dawned on her, her body couldn't take it. She turned over, and, facing a bush, puked.

She looked up at the sky. It was rosy, tinged with purple. It had been nearly seven hours.

"Uh," Mizuki sputtered, "Kimi, how long have you been awake?"

Kimi looked back at Mizuki, "About an hour. I was afraid to leave you guys here… in case that soldier came back. I truly am not surprised that I woke up first, being that it is Spring, season of earth, and that you would wake up second, being that it is early spring not late spring. Shizuka and Sokka may not wake up for a few hours yet. I hope they are okay. You got burned pretty badly."

Kimi watched as Mizuki struggled to get up, her arms, legs, and back burned harshly by the fire. She ran over to her and helped her up, bracing her as her left leg seemed to be broken due to the large chunks of rock that had fallen during the second explosion. She was bleeding heavily an inch or two under her right breast.

Kimi knew what Mizuki was trying to do. She supported Mizuki to a small stream that cut through Kyoshi near the Training house that was full of clean fresh water. Mizuki rested on the bank of the river, and Kimi ran back to watch the others.

Kimi seemed to be okay except for a burn on her right hand and leg. It wasn't bothering her, but Mizuki decided when she was done "bathing" in the water, she would bend some over and heal Kimi. Kimi didn't appear to have been hurt by the rocks. They must have been bended over and around her until she became unconscious due to the pain.

Mizuki stood carefully, and dove into the deep, lazy, river.


	8. Chapter 7: Starting to Heal

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**AN: Mizuki mentions something about the seasons affecting them. It is my belief that the seasons do affect them and every season is for an element. Winter=Water, Spring=Earth, Summer=Fire, Autumn=Air. Such as during the Winter Solstice, waterbenders are more powerful. Or, on the Spring equinox, earth is more powerful. But, on the opposite, they are weaker, perhaps even ill. The more powerful you are as a bender, the more the Solstice/equinox affects you, for good or ill. Get it? Too bad, deal with it. ;)**

**Warning: This chapter may include some Sokka randomness and OOCness. I got better with him as I went on, this was just... childish. ;)**

...

Mizuki opened her eyes under water. She was able to stay underwater for up to ten minutes- she was such a good water bender, that she was able to pull oxygen out of the water, at the cost of most of her energy.

She started with her burns, completely healing them until her flesh was just a bit raw. She then focused on her leg; which appeared to be broken just below her knee. She tried to heal it, but couldn't completely as she was running out of energy.

She swam up, ignoring the pain in her leg, and took a deep breath of clean air. She walked up to a tree, snapped to branches off, and shaped them in the design of a brace for her leg. She then attached it and bended some river water up with her. She walked carefully back to Kimi, and she tried to get used to the brace, and how it made her leg stiff.

She was almost there when Kimi saw her. She cried out, "Mizuki, come here! Sokka is saying something."

Mizuki ran up to her father, just in time to hear him murmur, "Friendly Mushroom! Where are you… friendly friend… lemme… lemme give you a… hug… friendly mushy friend!"

Mizuki laughed at her father as he lay there. She then turned to Kimi and sighed, "Kimi, you know my father is nuts. Hasn't Toph ever told you about when he drank the cactus juice in the desert? I love that story, although… mom would always tell me…"

Mizuki got really quiet. Kimi knew that Mizuki would really miss her mother, being that she was the "stable" parent. To break the awkward silence, Kimi said, "So, why did you bring water from the river?"

Mizuki snapped out of her trance and replied, "I brought it to heal your burns! Did you even realize you had some? You looked so at ease, I thought you never noticed it. I decided that since we had some time to kill before the other awake, I would heal them."

She bended the water over and placed it on Kimi's exposed leg. The burn healed completely and then she placed it on her hand. The water dripped away as the burn healed.

Mizuki thought that it was unfair that depending on the season people healed faster than others. If Sora was here, and she got burned, Mizuki wouldn't be able to even heal her completely. There would still be some burned parts.

Mizuki wondered what Sora could be doing. Sora and Uncle Aang would be doing less and less as the spring solstice got closer. The time was coming that they would be very vulnerable. What if Azula truly was back? She would go after her uncle first. He was still the Avatar after all.

Kimi watched her friend as she moved into yet another trance.


	9. Chapter 8: What's Really Going on?

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**AN: Their theories may stretch logic and reason a bit...**

**CAMIvH: They aren't really trances, just more like deep thought and spacing out.**

...

After about twenty minutes of that, what with them taking it easy and resting, Shizuka woke up. Kimi noticed and called for Mizuki, who had gone back to the river to wash her hair.

Mizuki had been watching them and she walked back up the hill with plenty of water. Shizuka had been more crushed by rocks and rubble than burned, but she _was_ a fire bender. Mizuki knelt down by the injured girl and felt her ribs.

A few were bruised, and she was bleeding in the middle of her chest. Her right ankle was swollen and sprained, so Mizuki braced it with the same kind of wood she used earlier. She then tried to stop the bleeding with her healing and watched as the color seeped back into the princess's face.

Unfortunately, Mizuki couldn't heal Shizuka's internal injuries. She watched with relief as her eyes opened again and she made a fetal attempt to sit up. Mizuki supported her arm and Shizuka came to a sitting position. As she sat up however, all the color remaining in her face paled quickly and she lay back down.

Mizuki sighed, "Well, at least you're awake, unlike dad. We need to ask him a few questions, such as: 'Why did you come back early?' 'Where are Toph and Haru?' 'What is the news about your old enemy Azula breaking out with the help of her son?' 'Why did that soldier take mom?' 'Why did he attack us?' He could have put mom down and took out dad. Why all of us, it isn't as if he thought we were a real threat… is it?"

Kimi looked down, "Well, maybe their parents told them not to underestimate a bunch of teens. Or maybe, and this is going to sound stupid, maybe they recognize us; because we look like our families. Mizuki, you look like Katara, Shizuka, you look like Azula, and I look like mom." Shizuka cringed; she obviously didn't like being compared to her aunt.

Then, suddenly, Mizuki snapped her fingers, "Yes! They know not to underestimate teenagers and kids, and they must have been scared as our parents aren't that old, in their twenties and thirties, so they just look like older teens, for the most part. They must have been scared as at a glance they would have thought that Sokka, Katara, and Toph had captured Azula! They also must think that we got 'some extraordinary power' from our legendary parents. What power could I have gotten from my parents? Sure, I am a master and legendary water bender, trained to pro-level in sword fighting and fans; I had Ty-Lee teach me her special moves, I am extremely agile, fast, and flexible, very strong, sarcastic- hey a trait from Sokka, a master of disguise, another from dad, and I am very stealthy… wow, I am a person you do not want to be enemies with. Lucky you…"

At that, Sokka woke with a jolt. He said quietly, "I have heard your questions. I do have answers but you won't like them. I came back early because my ship was attacked and I needed to warn Suki. Toph and Haru were on the boat, but they got stolen by a lot of Fire Nation soldiers. I was a coward. I hid and I did so until they thought no one was left on the ship. I don't know where they went. Also, it is true, Ryuji helped break his mother, Azula, out of the prison. They have brainwashed the soldiers into doing their bidding. We were planning to find Ryuji, as he is the only one who knows where his mother is. Everyone think that Azula is evil, so her son must be, and he is doing it for her. But we think that Ryuji is just a slave, his mind tampered like the soldiers. He is not to blame for this, Azula is. That soldier took your mother because she was part f our group, as were Toph and Haru, but mostly Toph. They are taking down any member they can, and the only ones left are me, Katara, Aang, and Mei. If Suki is gone, so is Ty-Lee."

Shizuka raised her head, her eyes sparkling with tears, "So they have my father then. Mom is as good as dead with that ailment of hers. Not to mention all of the brainwashed soldiers in our palace."

Kimi stood, her hand clenched in a fist, "So it is settled then! We need to get to Aang, Katara, and their kids to protect them! That way if they want them, they will get a nasty surprise!"


	10. Chapter 9: Time to Flee

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

**CAMIvH: Sorry! I should attempt to really answer it, shouldn't I? I don't think it'll be that often. And yes, I realize Sokka is OOC... and he probably will be in this chapter too. Truthfully, I've got a bunch of chapters written right now, so I didn't realize just how OOC he was for a while. Oops!**

**Steven-B: I'm way ahead of you on that. ;)**

...

They planned their getaway over the next week, and decided on how to get to the South Pole. If they took a boat, they would be discovered too easily, so they used Mizuki as an alternative. They would stand near each other, and go directly under the water. They would swim underwater with an air bubble around their head, thanks to Mizuki pushing the water away from their heads, and if they got tired, Kimi would push a small square of earth under their feet to the surface for them to rest on. When they got closer to the South Pole, Mizuki would create sheets of ice to rest on.

Unfortunately, something was standing in their way. The day before they were going to leave, they were all resting on the sand. Mizuki loved the beach, it was so energizing. While they were all sunbathing and chatting merrily, Mizuki couldn't help but notice how hot it was getting.

"Guys," Mizuki stuttered, "anyone else notice how hot it is getting? It feels almost as if we are surrounded by fire!"

Sokka slowly turned around. Behind the teens was a group of three fire nation soldiers!

He stammered unintelligently, "Girls, uh, you may want to look behind, uh, you!" As he said so, another soldier crept up and threw a burlap sack over his head.

The soldiers grabbed Mizuki first; she was very close to the sea and could easily destroy them. They grabbed her hands and tied them, ignoring her head and feet.

Shizuka was grabbed next, her feet, and hands tied, her mouth gagged.

Kimi wasn't going to let this happen so easily. She bended loads of sand into the soldiers faces as they let go of Mizuki and Shizuka. Mizuki bended the water with her head, and a big wave came up and flooded the soldiers. They stood there, sputtering, while the last one dragged Sokka away. The guards still didn't think the teens were threats.

Mizuki didn't think it would be possible to catch up with the guard quickly running away, so she had one last card to pull: blood bending. She was so powerful, she could blood bend anytime. She stood and used the technique while her friends were occupying the guards.

She pulled the guard back towards her but the guards had tied up her friends and were advancing on her. They grabbed her and tied her up. She felt a pain in her side as they kicked her in the ribs. Her blue eyes watering, she inched towards the water trying not to think of all that she had lost.

By the time Mizuki had gotten in the water, the soldiers were long gone. She froze her bonds and shattered them, then broke Shizuka and Kimi free. She sat there, on the beach, and started to cry.

Shizuka sat next to her and placed an arm around her, "Mizuki, I am so sorry. This is horrible; you have lost everyone close to you."

Mizuki raised her head and gulped, "No! I haven't yet! We still have hope! The avatar is still alive! We are still in the Fire nation's way! There is nothing we won't do for our parents' freedom!"

Her face turned bright with fury, she was truly angry with the soldiers who had done this to her, "Gather your things! We are leaving now."

Her friends knew better than to argue with Mizuki, so they left and got their stuff. Soon they were swimming out at sea. They didn't know it, but Mizuki was silently weeping as she led the way into the ocean. She could swim very fast, creating a current to propel them through the water at an amazing speed.

They didn't talk much, but they didn't find the silence awkward. All they were thinking about were their parents, and what the soldiers may be doing to them. Finally unable to bare the silence any longer, Mizuki called over her shoulder, "Shizuka, you know Azula best. What do you think that she is doing to our parents?"

Mizuki had thought that Azula would interrogate them and torture them. Kimi thought that she would have them chained and keep them barely alive for ransom.

Shizuka looked up and replied slowly, "I think I know. One day, my parents had gone out to eat at a new fire nation restaurant. Dad told me about it, the manager had come up to them with a tired, almost glazed look on his face and told them they had prepared a Royal meal for their Lord and Lady. Mom looked a bit confused and told them that they hadn't asked ahead of time for the food, and that their visit was unannounced. The manager said it was on the house and that it had been prepared for them in case they should arrive.

"Mom and Dad were suspicious, but they were hungry and not nearly as wary as they were in the old days. A young boy, about my age, had come over with their food with a smirk on his face. 'For our leaders…' He said and then ran off.

"Dad picked at his food while Mom ate, and after eating nothing, he admitted he wasn't hungry. They left, even though Dad hadn't eaten and Mom had only eaten about half of her food. In the morning, Dad called for the Royal doctor. That was the first day Mom was ill. I think that Azula had started then. She has been hypnotizing the guards, so, she must have hypnotized the people who worked at the restaurant, and made them poison their food. Dad wasn't hungry, and he didn't eat the food. Mom ate half of it. If mom had eaten all of it, I bet she would have been dead by the morning. Because she only ate half, she is slowly dying, and won't be dead until Azula thinks it a good time, or, not for another year about.

"I think that Azula will forcefully poison them at some point, but not very soon. She will have interrogated them, tortured them, hung them, and then, when she is tired of that, she will give them each a spoonful of poison. That poison won't kill them, maybe not ever, but it will cause them pain and suffering; but she may just kill them though, just to get them out of her way. But I don't think so; she likes to play with her food before she eats it."

Mizuki's face paled, that was bad news. Suddenly the current whirred out of control, causing the bubbles of water surrounding the girls' heads to collapse.

Mizuki thrashed around wildly as her water-logged brain attempted to think. She finally got an idea, and grabbed her friends, and thrust her hand down, shooting them up in a jet stream, until they shot into the air. Mizuki made the ocean catch them, and created a sturdy sheet of ice underneath them.

They lay there, coughing as they tried to expel the water from their lungs. Mizuki then remembered that she was a water bender, and bended the water out. Once they all could breathe, Kimi passed out and Shizuka fell into a daze. Soon, after being sure that there was no one near, Mizuki passed out as well, into a shifty, dreamless sleep.


End file.
